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| Treasures of America
by Joyce Tam As a first time sightseer, I was greatly astonished to see the quiet tranquility of the western states in this country. A few weeks ago, I went on a road trip to visit the famous monuments. By getting up at 7 a.m. every morning, I was able to see a few wonders of nature. The Grand Teton's snow-capped mountains stood up like giants. I felt like a small ant compared to them. Every day I was faced with showers of rain. In Utah, there was even a brief hailstorm. What wonderful weather, right? Do you really think Old Faithful is faithful? Well, if so, for once this majestic geyser was late! But all the other hot springs and geysers kept my interest. Sapphire blue pools, steaming hot mists and the strong smell made me feel like I was a part of nature. Are you really into playing with water? If so, you will love going to the waterfalls in the parks. At the Lower Falls you can step onto a platform right next to the top of the waterfall. At the Tower Falls, you can almost walk right to the base of the fall. You are so close that water sprays on you. So much for water fights! Yellowstone Park and the Grand Teton National Park also have many different varieties of animals that captured my interest. Everything was so beautiful, I didn't even mind the hours of sitting in the car. Jackson Hole, Wyoming had shops that sold native American artifacts. If you knew me, you would understand why I was so thrilled. The Native American culture seems so simple, but you should notice their brilliant clothes, the sweet sound of their language, the lessons their stories teach, and the meanings to all their symbols. It really is worth taking a second look. So if you want a taste of the calm peacefulness of nature, try going to Northern California, Wyoming, South Dakota (it has Mount Rushmore) or any of the states near there. I sure had fun. A recent graduate of
Visitacion Valley Middle School, Joyce Tam is a member of the Youth Communicaiton
Apprenticeship Program.
Five Years Ago in the Grapevine JULY 1992 *On June 12, 68 5th graders from Visitacion Valley Elementary School (VVES) were promoted to middle school. *Muni fares were raised to one dollar beginning July 1. *San Francisco Public library reduced branch hours June 8 due to budget and staff cuts. *Black Men of Action organized a luncheon to express gratitude in the ending of gang violence between two neighborhoods. *Rooms 10 and 11 at El Dorado School
held a You're Beautiful assembly to finish the school year.
Volunteer Meeting for S.F. Recycling Program The S.F. Recycling Program offers volunteers opportunities to participate in waste prevention with the Recycling and Hazardous Waste Programs through monthly meetings held the first Wednesday of each month. Projects involve research, database development and environmental education. Hands-on recycling opportunities with local nonprofits will also be discussed. Next meeting is Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m.,
1145 Market St., Suite 401 (between 7th and 8th Sts.) Call 554-3404 for
more information.
Neighborhoods Meet Spring Recycling Challenge by David Assmann
During the campaign, we called 15,000 households to talk about recycling. We found that 57 percent of residents in the six neighborhoods are currently recycling, with 39 percent saying they would begin recycling. The most recycled items are plastic bottles and newspapers. Glass jars and bottles and aluminum are in third and fourth place. The least recycled items are phone books, paper bags and dry food boxes. While recycling rates are climbing locally, a proposed change in a state law may send some recycling rates down. The California Department of Conservation (DOC), the agency responsible for administering the state's extremely successful program to recycle beverage containers, has put forth a proposal that some recyclers say will gut the law. The law, AB 2020, has resulted in the recycling of almost 80 percent of aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers in the state of California since 1991. The law requires that a deposit be paid on containers for beer, wine coolers and carbonated soft drinks and waters. These deposits are placed in a DOC fund, which is used to pay back redemption value for redeemed containers. Money left in the DOC fund from unredeemed containers is used for grants to local conservation corps, governmental and nonprofit entities for recycling, recycling market development, community outreach and education programs and for administration of the program. The current DOC proposal would remove the requirement for retailers to maintain a recycling center within a half mile of their store (which would result in a drastic reduction in the number of recycling centers), eliminate $5 million in annual payments to curbside programs, eliminate $2.5 million in local government and nonprofit grants and eliminate $7,5 million in funding for local conservation corps programs. The proposal would also reduce recycling targets down from the current 80 percent to 70 percent. If you're concerned about these changes, write to Larry Goldzland, Director, Department of Conservation, 901 K St., M.S. 24-01, Sacramento, CA 95814. On a related note, Assembly member Kevin Shelley has introduced a bill which would expand the law to include containers for non-carbonated soft drinks, waters, juices and teas. Currently the statewide recycling rate for glass containers not covered by AB 2020 is only 21 percent and the rate for plastic containers is less than 10 percent. This bill is currently in the state senate. Moving closer to home, recycling participation in San Francisco continues to climb. Figures for the first four months of 1997 show that we recycled a total of 37,787,160 pounds of recyclables citywide (up 3 million pounds from last year). We also have results back from exit polls conducted during our annual waste prevention campaign at supermarkets held earlier this year. Forty-two percent of shoppers polled remembered one or more elements from the Shop Smart campaign, with more than half of these shoppers saying that the campaign affected their buying habits. And, if you're wondering what you can do with dead batteries, there are now more than 36 places that accept batteries for recycling. All batteries contain toxic heavy metals, including zinc, mercury, cadmium, nickel, silver and manganese. In order to make sure these materials don't end up polluting our environment, take them to one of the following recycling sites. Rechargeable batteries (labeled as nickel-cadmium,) that no longer work can be taken to any one of the 26 Radio Shack stores in the City, Circuit City, any of the three Cole Hardware locations, North Point Camera, Bridge Radio Communications, Auto Symphony, Camera Express, Cal-Marine Electronics, Cameras and More, Top Line Cameras, Stanley's T.V., California Electric Service or Viking Tool Repair. Alkaline batteries can be taken to any of the three Cole Hardware stores, Whole Earth Access or the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. Finally, now's the time to think about
the number of phone books you really need at home and at work. If you have
more than one phone line at home, and only need one set of directories,
or if your business has more books than it really needs, call Pacific Bell
Directory at 1-800-848-8000 and reduce the number of books you'll receive
before the new directories are delivered in September.
Bay Area Consumer Education Campaign Huge Success More than 500,000 shoppers say their shopping habits were influenced by the Shop Smart: Save Resources and Prevent Waste campaign, featured in 285 Bay Area supermarkets, the California Department of Conservation, Pacific Bell Directory and the Steel Recycling Institute, focused on reducing waste and promoting the purchase of recycled products at grocery stores. Forty-two percent of consumers surveyed (more than one million shoppers regionwide) said they remebered one or more elements of the campaign. Eighty-four percent of those remembering the campaign were interested in the campaign's messages. More than half said the campaign affected their buying habits (up from 30 percent in 1996). Thirty percent of the consumers aware of the campaign bought items with recycled packaging, 23 percent bought their own bags to the checkout counter and 19 percent said they bought bulk products. Consumers were educated through shelf tags, display units, posters, information on shopping bags, brochures and by newspaper, radio and television ads. This was the second Shop Smart campaign.
Last year's campaign won a number of state and national awards. The 1998
campaign is scheduled for January 1998.
Bulk Buying Can Save Consumers on Grocery Bill A price comparison study of 56 commonly purchased grocery items has found that shoppers can save 40 percent by buying these items in larger packages. The study, which was conducted by the San Francisco Recycling Program, included commonly purchased items such as milk, cheese, juice, yogurt, detergent, rice, sugar, meat, shampoo, cookies, soup and canned vegetables. "This study shows that waste prevention not only benefits the environment but can also save shoppers significant amounts of money," said David Assmann, public outreach coordinator for the San Francisco recycling Program. "The basket of 56 items purchased in small or single serve sizes cost $137.88, whereas the same items, purchased in economy or larger sizes, cost $82.29." The most dramatic differences were found in sugar and popcorn which were 82 percent cheaper in the larger sizes; coffee, which was 80 percent less expensive, and rice, which was 72 percent less expensive. All price comparisons were done using
the same brand in both the large and small sizes. Not all of the items
were perishable items. For example, buying cotton swabs in bulk saves consumers
71 percent, and shampoo is 40 percent less expensive in larger bottles.
Health Referral for Women and Children The San Francisco Department of Public
Health is sponsoring a Women and Children's Health Referral Line. This
toll free referral service can link low income women and children in San
Francisco to free or low cost health care. For more information, call 1-800-300-9950.
Volunteers Needed in Golden Gate Park Friends of Recreation and Parks is holding Volunteer Days in the west end of Golden Gate Park. Volunteers will help to revitalize this area of the Park by clearing overgrowth and performing minor landscaping from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Volunteers can meet in the parking lot
of the soccer fields at 9 a.m. on July 26, Aug. 23, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25
for orientation, coffee and bagels. Friends will supply gloves and tools.
For more information, call 750-5110.
Historic Proportions Match clues to answers. 1960 1. Seems like everybody started doin'
this latest dance craze.
A. Hawaiian Punch
Answers: 1-L; 2-J; 3-H; 4-O; 5-E; 6-M;
7-C; 8-P; 9-R; 10-A; 11-K; 12-B; 13-I; 14-Q; 15-G; 16-D; 17-F; 18-N.
Sez Who? Match quotes to speakers. 1. "In life, as in a football game,
the principle to follow is hit the line hard."
A. Leo Kennedy
Answers: 1-C, 2-I, 3-G, 4-F, 5-B, 6-H, 7-D, 8-A, 9-E. |